The Nature of the Beast
by Cherry4
Summary: Faith returns; Amy causes problems for the Scoobies when a spell goes very wrong. Set after S6 'Wrecked', and ignores subsequent episodes.
1. A Miscast Spell

TITLE: 'The Nature of the Beast' Part 1/?  
AUTHOR: Cherry   
RATING: PG-13  
PAIRING: B/F  
SUMMARY: Faith returns; Amy causes problems.  
ARCHIVE: http://www.thekeep.org/~cherry/  
SPOILERS: S6 'Wrecked'  
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.  
  
  
The sun set and she appeared. Her moves were efficient, nearly  
brutal in intensity, plunging the stake into the heart, then ripping it  
out and moving on to the next without pause.  
  
The news had been shocking, and untimely. A law firm that once  
worked for the mayor had done a review of his file, and discovered  
posthumous instructions to act as the defense for a favored employee.  
Despite protests from the accused, the charges were overturned by the  
zealous young lawyer assigned the case.  
  
All of which meant exactly one thing. Faith had been released.  
  
*****  
  
Dawn still refused to speak to Willow, threatening to go out if  
Buffy left her alone that night. It hadn't taken much convincing to get  
Xander to turn it into a movie night. He'd even talked Tara into showing  
up, playing on her natural sympathies for Dawn. Yes, he felt a little  
guilty for that, especially given that Willow was alone upstairs,  
completely aware of the happy movie crowd downstairs.  
  
Perhaps it was his fiancée rubbing off on him, but there was a  
little bit of him that hoped Willow felt excluded. How Buffy could  
forgive her so easily was beyond him.  
  
*****  
  
It was in the third cemetery that she felt the presence. Something  
not vampiric, not demonic. No longer familiar, exactly, but it once was.   
She paused, back turned, and waited. The silence stretched out painfully  
long.  
  
"You might as well come out." Her voice was soft, not angry like  
she had convinced herself it should be.  
  
Behind and to her left, there was the soft rustle of someone  
pushing through the bushes. She turned her head in that direction, not  
quite far enough to look yet. "It's been a long time. How are you?"  
  
The response was slow, as if it had to be carefully considered.  
When it came, it lacked the once typical sarcastic edge. Rather, it  
sounded faintly amused. "Five by five, B."  
  
*****  
  
She was growing more desperate by the hour. The magic called to  
her, her blood singing in response to the ebb and flow. She couldn't wait  
another night, it had to be tonight. Whatever the cost, she needed a fix,  
one that only he could provide. She'd find what he wanted, and bring it  
to him. Friendship didn't matter compared to the need.  
  
So what if without her she'd still be a rat? He wanted Willow,  
and she wanted his spells. It seemed a fair trade when he offered it.  
  
*****  
  
She spoke with a hesitant tone, as if fearful of offending.   
Given the history of the pair, it wasn't without reason. "I heard you  
were dead."  
  
Buffy finished turning around to look at her. Faith. Her angry  
resolve once more failed to appear, even staring at the woman she'd sworn  
she hated. "I got better." She tried to fight it, but the faintest of  
grins slid onto her face. Words slipped out through the grin, ones she  
hadn't even been aware of thinking. "I missed you."  
  
Faith's face registered surprise as she took a few steps closer.  
It tighted a moment later, her jaw clenched. "I haven't forgotten what  
you said, but I can't not. I'm sorry, Buffy." Her eyes screwed shut as  
she tensed, expecting hard fists. What she didn't expect was a soft touch  
on her hand, pulling it up to be gently clasped. After a moment, she  
pried one eye open to look.  
  
Buffy's face was serious, but not harsh. "I'm sorry too, Faith.  
And what's more, I forgive you."  
  
The response was barely audible, and resembled a question more  
than anything else. "I forgive you...?"  
  
*****  
  
He knew the risk of getting caught. It was much too early to go  
to her. But patience was never his strong suit, so he would watch for  
her. Not the stalking of before, following her on patrol obsessively. He  
knew her patrol patterns, and would hide just to watch her walk by. He  
promised himself that until she turned in the direction of his crypt,  
that's all he would do. Tonight she hadn't even glanced up in his  
direction, intent on something. He waited to be sure, then came out and  
lit a bent but still smokable cigarette.  
  
A compromise, he'd go visit Dawn. She was probably feeling low  
right now, and good old Spike would be just the right one to cheer her up.  
Buffy might get upset if she found out, though.  
  
He smoked the rest of the pack while talking himself into going,  
leaving a new assortment of butts with the ones from last night, and the  
night before. The minutes he spent kicking them under a nearby bush made  
him miss seeing the blonde individual of his thoughts passing back through  
the grounds hours before he would expected. By the time he was on his  
way, she was long out of sight. As was her companion.  
  
*****  
  
Buffy led Faith back along her usual route, cutting through the  
cemetery that Spike lived in without even noticing. When making her  
impulsive offer to let Faith stay at her house, she had surprised herself  
nearly as much as Faith. She had hidden it well, though, and grabbed  
Faith's hand, pulling her along behind as she walked.  
  
"B, it's okay, you don't need to. I'll stay at the motel.."  
  
Buffy cut her off before she could finish. "Nope, you won't. I  
shouldn't have let you stay there last time, but I was self-centered and  
oblivious." She glanced at Faith with a small grin. "This is where you  
protest and deny."  
  
"Oh, you were never oblivious," Faith responded, stressing the  
last word lightly. She grimaced slightly, already wanting to take back  
her teasing statement. It wasn't quite time to try sliding into the  
comfortable friendship again.  
  
Buffy giggled. "Thanks." She squeezed her hand slightly and  
continued, "I'll work on the self-centered."  
  
Faith fixed her stare straight ahead. This new Buffy was nothing  
like the one from high school. Not much like the one from when she woke  
up, either. Maybe it was having a boyfriend that screwed her up. That  
was the first priority then, find out if she's single again. Too bad most  
guys aren't stakeable, she'd never make the mistake of dating a vamp  
again.  
  
Coming up to the house, Buffy frowned as she heard what sounded  
like shouting coming from inside. "That better be a movie..." She  
trailed off and ran up to the door, throwing it open and dashing inside,  
Faith close on her heels.  
  
*****  
  
Getting in the back door was easy, just a quick spell and tumblers  
tumbled, the knob twisted, and she was in. Getting upstairs was much  
harder, but with the movie playing, there was just enough background noise  
to cover her. Good thing Xander liked action movies with high volume  
sound-tracks. The key was to keep moving, not to leave any time for  
someone to discover her, and to get out fast. So when she got to Willow's  
room, she simply knocked once and entered.  
  
Willow looked up with red eyes, and immediately ducked away to rub  
them. "Amy, hey! I didn't expect to see you tonight." Her books were  
scattered around her on the bed, papers and notebooks stacked wildly with  
loose pages everywhere. It was a very un-Willowy disorganized mess.  
  
Amy sat down on the bed, and glanced at Willow's schoolwork.  
Admittedly, she was a few years behind, but it didn't look like she was  
making much progress on it. "Hey. You look like you could use a break.  
And a friend. We could go get a cup of coffee or something."  
  
Willow dragged herself from the bed, books and papers dropping to  
the floor unnoticed. "Yeah, okay. I could use some fresh air."  
  
Amy followed her out of the room, taking deep breaths. That had  
been the easy part. Getting her to Rack's was the hard part, but she'd at  
least try to get Willow to go on her own first. Coming down the stairs,  
she noticed the credits start to roll on the movie.  
  
Willow came up behind the sofa. "Hey, guys, I'm going out for  
coffee..."  
  
Xander spoke as he turned around, "Sure, I'll let Buf... What the  
hell is she doing here?!"  
  
Willow looked behind her in confusion. "Amy? She's just being a  
friend." She continued in a louder and somewhat angrier voice. "Something  
I don't seem to have very many of right now!"  
  
Dawn turned around and stood up, glaring as she blatantly shifted  
her arm wrapped in a purple cast, crossing it over her other arm.  
"Probably because you don't deserve them!"  
  
"I thought you were quitting magic!"  
"I am!"  
"Doesn't look like it to me!"  
"What am I supposed to do, lock myself in my room and never come  
out again?!"  
  
Amy nervously watched as Xander and Dawn verbally attacked Willow.  
Things weren't going well right now. She started running through spells  
in her mind, looking for a good one to get out of there and try again  
later. At that point, the door burst open behind her, and things went  
from bad to worse.  
  
*****  
  
Buffy stuttered to a stop as the argument cut off with her  
entrance. Xander and Willow were standing toe to toe, and had been  
yelling at the top of their lungs. Dawn was right there too, Anya and  
Tara having backed off. There was a dead silence as she looked around the  
room, just about to ask what was going on when there was a yelp of pain  
from behind her. She spun around to see Faith twisting Amy's arm up  
behind her, the other had some kind of dried flower in it.  
  
"Hey B, I think this one was trying to cast a magic spell."  
  
Xander was the first to react, unconsciously echoing his earlier  
query, "What the hell is she doing here?!"  
  
Before anyone could respond, Amy grabbed at the dried herbs with  
her free hand and chanted a few words in Latin. Faith pulled tighter on  
her arm, causing her to mangle the pronunciation of the last few. A flash  
of light covered the entire room as the spell went off. Amy barely had  
time to gasp out, "Oh c-!" before the spell cut her off.  
  
*****  
  
Coming up to the house, Spike halted with a jolt as he noticed the  
half open front door. He still had an invitation, at least as far as he  
knew, but other demons didn't need invitations. Lights were on, and the  
house seemed fairly quiet. He glanced up at Buffy's room. No lights  
there, so she was probably out on patrol. That was what he wanted,  
really. He was just there to see Dawn, and cheer her up. No ulterior  
motives at all.  
  
Still, just to be safe, he checked his duster for weapons before  
pushing the door open the rest of the way, and making his way in as  
silently as vampirically possible. He only made it two steps into the  
house before a low animal growl startled him, pulling his gaze to the  
left.  
  
The hellmouth did tend towards the unusual, but this was a bit  
much. Stalking towards him were a pair of great cats, one that he  
recognized as a lioness, the second as a black panther. Barely  
registering on his senses were other animals behind them, the only one  
worthy of his notice was a brown bear larger than both cats together. It,  
however, was sitting placidly on the floor, so was quickly disregarded as  
a threat.  
  
He stared down at both of them as they halted only a body-length  
away, almost certainly within a distance to pounce. The eyes on the  
lioness caught him, drawing him in. They were familiar in an unusual way,  
some element about them seemed almost like... The feeling came together  
with a sudden rush.  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
-- End Part One  
$Revision: 1.14 $  
$Date: 2002/01/31 04:31:05 $ 


	2. Researching & Hunting

TITLE: 'The Nature of the Beast' Part 2/?  
AUTHOR: Cherry   
RATING: PG-13  
PAIRING: B/F  
SUMMARY: Spike tries to help.  
ARCHIVE: http://www.thekeep.org/~cherry/  
SPOILERS: S6 'Wrecked'  
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.  
PREVIOUSLY: Faith has returned, just in time to be caught in a miscast  
spell, along with the entire Scooby gang.  
  
** From Part One **  
  
He stared down at both of the cats as they halted only a  
body-length away, almost certainly within a distance to pounce. The eyes  
on the lioness caught him, drawing him in. They were familiar in an  
unusual way, some element about them seemed almost like... The feeling  
came together with a sudden rush.  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
** End Part One **  
  
  
Spike held up his hands, and took a slow step back. "That is you,  
isn't it?" If he had one to hold, his breath would have been during the  
pause before the lioness nodded her head once. She seemed content to  
stand there for the moment, and not rip his throat out, so he checked out  
the rest of the room.  
  
The black panther next to Buffy stood nearly motionless, just the  
tip of her tail twitching. Had Spike been more of an expert on animal  
body language, he might have panicked at that point. The brown bear was  
still sitting there, and as their gazes met, it waved hello with one paw.  
Perched on the bear's head was a small weasel-like creature, possibly a  
ferret. On the couch was a small monkey, who was gently petting a  
trembling rabbit. And lastly, there was a red fox crouched down on the  
floor next to a rat. Spike mentally counted the Scoobies, coming up with  
two extra.  
  
There was clothing everywhere, most of it looking rather feminine,  
and some of it ripped, like it had burst open from within. Which it  
likely had, come to think of it. One worrisome pile had a blue sling on  
top, which could only have been Dawn's. There did seem to be enough piles  
to account for all eight, if he assumed the sleeve barely visible under  
the bear indicated a full set of clothing.  
  
"Right. Spell went wrong, I'm guessing? Which one of you is  
Red?" A tickle of memory struck him, and he looked down at the fox, which  
was emphatically shaking her head. "Alright, I'm not accusing. So if you  
didn't do it, who did?" Spike had to hold back a laugh as most of the  
gang pointed a paw at the rat.  
  
Hold on, a rat. Didn't Red have a pet rat that she said was a  
witch? What the hell was her name... "That the witch you've been taking  
care of, the one who turned herself into a rat a few years back?" Willow  
nodded. "And now she's gone and done it the rest of you." Willow nodded  
again.  
  
Spike grinned. "I suppose it's up to me to get you all restored  
to normal, then. But before I do, at least tell me who's who. Which one  
of you is Dawn?" The ferret on top of the bear's head started chittering,  
standing up on her hind legs before unbalancing and rolling down the  
bear's back. He laughed. "Very cute, pet. Tara?" The bear waved just  
as it had before. "I should have known. Anya?" The monkey made a soft  
'eek', and pointed a finger at the rabbit. Spike grimaced, "My  
sympathies. That would make Xander the monkey, yes?" Xander proceeded to  
howl at him while Spike snickered.  
  
Which still left one question. "So, who's the other cat?"  
  
*****  
  
Xander looked down at the rabbit in his lap. Anya had finally  
calmed down and fallen asleep. Or possibly just passed out. Regardless,  
he gently moved her to the couch and hopped onto the floor, making his way  
over to the phone. He ignored the ridiculous game of sign language and  
twenty questions the others were playing with Spike, and climbed up onto  
the desk. Having somewhat normal hands was quite useful, even if it was a  
little strange to have feet that worked like hands also.  
  
He hesitated before picking up the phone. The only real choices  
were Giles and Angel, and he wasn't sure he could remember the new number  
for Giles. Asking Buffy would be a little bit tricky right now. That  
left Angel, and it would have to be Spike to talk to him. Worst case,  
Angel thinks Spike is up to something and comes to Sunnydale. Wait, worst  
case is Angel tells him to go away and refuses to help. He pondered for a  
moment more, then dialed.  
  
//"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."//  
  
"Oook!" There was a long pause.  
  
//"Xander, is that you?"//  
  
Xander stared at the phone and then howled at Cordelia. He swore  
he could hear laughter a moment later.  
  
*****  
  
Cordelia managed to contain herself a moment later. "Put Spike on  
the phone, okay? We already know what happened." There was a muffled  
British sounding exclamation, and then there was a new voice on the other  
side.  
  
//"Hallo? Who's this? Xander you twit, who did you call?"//  
  
"Hi Spike, it's Cordelia. Wesley is on his way to help." She  
gave him a minute to absorb this.  
  
//"Just the watcher? No brooding poof? And how the bloody hell  
did you know, anyhow?"//  
  
"It's a vision thing. No Angel, just Wesley. He suggested  
meeting at the magic shop directly, so that's where he's headed."  
  
//"Right. This vision, did it tell you who the big black cat  
is?"//  
  
Cordelia paused to carefully search her memory of the vision,  
unaware that she was floating a inch above her seat. "I don't recall  
seeing one at all."  
  
*****  
  
Spike glared down at the subject of the conversation. She was  
grinning up at him, her tail idly swishing back and forth as her foreclaws  
slowly tapped on the floor. "She doesn't seem to like me very much."  
  
//"Which makes her stand out how?"//  
  
Spike growled out, "I'll meet the pansy at the shop," then banged  
the phone down. "All of you listen up. We're going to the magic shop to  
meet the weasel-" He was cut off by a loud protest from Dawn. "Sorry,  
little bit. Wesley, that is. He'll get you all back to normal."   
  
Herding cats would have been easier. Herding a feline slayer was  
impossible, and the other one was just as much a problem. He'd gotten all  
the rest of them into Xander's car, the little ones and Tara, that is.  
But when he tried to get Buffy to jump in, she refused. The big black one  
was just as reluctant, made worse when the little vixen started snarling  
at her. After the strangest argument he'd ever had, he got the two to  
promise to wait here so he could make a second trip.  
  
Naturally, after getting the first bunch settled in, he returned  
to find them both gone.  
  
*****  
  
Spike let himself into the shop, glaring into the corners for  
them. He saw the watcher sitting at the table surrounded by books and  
animals, all of them staring at him. "They here yet?"  
  
"Buffy? No, she hasn't showed up. Did you lose her?"  
  
"Bint ran off with the other one. Left before I got back. Been  
looking around town for them for at least an hour."  
  
Wesley looked thoughtful at that. "I suppose we'll simply have to  
trust that she can take care of herself. In the meantime, have a seat and  
a book. This will go faster the more of us working on it. Most of them  
can't turn the pages."  
  
Spike flopped into a seat, the way only a grumpy vampire can. He  
pulled the next book from the stack, and started reading about  
transformation spells involving animals, possession spells involving  
animals, and much more than he wanted to know about spells to invoke  
animal spirits. "Hang on, why didn't the rest of your crew show up to  
help?"  
  
Wesley was slow in responding. "Because the vision only showed  
me, plus you, sitting in the shop surrounded by various animals. No one  
else. And also that it was important to arrive as quickly as possible."  
  
Spike grumbled to himself. Once a stuffy watcher, always a stuffy  
watcher. Too bad Giles wasn't here.  
  
*****  
  
Faith had been careful to keep her distance from the others,  
standing on the far side of Buffy. When the vampire had finally driven  
off with the rest of the gang, she'd laid down to watch Buffy pace back  
and forth in the living room. In all honesty, she didn't mind being a cat  
very much. Why not enjoy it while she could?  
  
It was this thought that led her to hop up, and rumble for Buffy's  
attention. She gestured at the door with her head. Buffy tilted her  
head, then shook it. Probably wanted to wait for the vampire. What was  
it with her and the undead, anyhow? Faith paced over, then traced out a  
heart on the floor, stabbing at it when she was finished. She looked up  
at Buffy. The lioness was still staring at the floor. When she finally  
looked up to meet Faith's look, Buffy simply nodded once, agreeing to go  
patrol.  
  
*****  
  
"Oh dear."  
  
Spike looked up, waiting for the ex-watcher to continue. A minute  
passed. Spike cleared his throat noisily. No response. "Did you find  
something or not?"  
  
"What? Oh, er... yes, but it's not good. If, as Tara has  
indicated, the witch was trying to cast a spell to turn herself into a  
rat, the most likely result of the spell expanding should have been to  
make eight rats. Since it did not, each of them affected the spell's  
result."  
  
"Which means what?"  
  
"In some manner, the animals they have become may reflect their  
inner nature. Or what they fear about their nature in Anya's case.  
Regardless, reversing the spell will be problematic. It's not simply an  
externally forced shape, it's one they chose on subconscious level."  
  
"Bugger."  
  
*****  
  
Among lions, it was well known that the female of the species did  
the hunting. Had Buffy been asked, she would have agreed that a lioness  
typified her feelings about herself, a female pressed into hunting for the  
good of her tribe.  
  
The five younglings were three before they even realized anything  
was wrong. The only warning was the sound of bodies exploding into dust.  
One of the remaining three turned in time to catch a glimpse of fangs and  
green eyes before his throat was ripped out. The other saw his friend go  
down even as something closed around his throat. He was able to make a  
pathetic sound of protest before he too was simply ashes. Which left just  
one.  
  
She was the eldest, a vampire made nearly five years ago in a city  
far from here. The hellmouth had called her here, and just this night,  
her four newest minions had risen. Her only four minions. The slayer,  
damn her, was destroying them as fast as she could make new ones. And now  
cats? That was the last thought she had time for.  
  
Buffy stumbled as she sneezed out the remains of the last vampire,  
mewling in irritation as she swiped at the dust on her face. A gentle  
touch on her face brought her eyes open again, and she stood perfectly  
still as her sister slayer licked her face clean. After a moment, she  
responded in kind, cleaning the dark fur. There was a tiny voice that was  
asking her exactly what she was doing, but the much louder one shouted it  
down, claiming it was a perfectly natural thing to do, and wasn't it nice  
to have a clean face?  
  
When they had finished the ritual cleaning, Buffy rubbed her face  
against Faith, then turned and headed for the next part of her hunt,  
trusting the dark cat to follow along behind.  
  
*****  
  
Wesley put the book down at last. "I have good news as well as  
bad news. The good news is that unlike the spell she was trying to cast,  
this one can be reversed somewhat easily."  
  
"And the bad?"  
  
He paused to polish his glasses, delaying out of a hope that  
something would occur to him that could make it all alright. He replaced  
them on his face, and sighed. "Since the new forms were chosen by them,  
they will each have to chose to return to being human."  
  
Spike frowned. "I don't see how that's bad."  
  
"Perhaps Buffy chose to go out because she has no desire to return  
to being human."  
  
-- End Part Two  
$Revision: 1.7 $  
$Date: 2002/01/31 04:31:05 $ 


	3. A Good Day

TITLE: 'The Nature of the Beast' Part 3/?  
AUTHOR: Cherry   
RATING: PG-13  
PAIRING: B/F  
SUMMARY: Anya has a good day.  
ARCHIVE: http://www.thekeep.org/~cherry/  
SPOILERS: S6 'Wrecked'  
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.  
PREVIOUSLY: Buffy and Faith have gone on patrol while Wesley and Spike  
seek a way to reverse the spell.  
  
** From Part Two **  
  
Wesley paused to polish his glasses, delaying out of a hope that  
something would occur to him that could make it all alright. He replaced  
them on his face, and sighed. "Since the new forms were chosen by them,  
they will each have to chose to return to being human."  
  
Spike frowned. "I don't see how that's bad."  
  
"Perhaps Buffy chose to go out because she has no desire to return  
to being human."  
  
** End Part Two **  
  
"And the black panther?"  
  
Wesley gave him a slightly superior look. "A misnomer. The  
so-called black panther is most commonly either a black jaguar, or a black  
leopard, although other species of large cats can possess melanistic  
coloration. The jaguar and leopard are a part of the Panthera family of  
great cats, a family which includes the more well known lion and tiger,  
which may explain the source of the name. Incidentally, why do you bring  
them up?"  
  
Spike narrowed his eyes. "Because one of the animals I found in  
her house was a black panther. She and Buffy are missing. Weren't you  
paying attention when I asked if they'd arrived here? And that I'd been  
looking for them?"  
  
"Ah. Now that you mention it... no, I don't recall that at all.  
In any event, I'll need to use the back room to prepare a circle for the  
de-transformation ritual." Wesley scooped up the book, continuing in a  
lighter tone, "Oh, there is one more minor detail. The ritual can only be  
performed at dawn, and takes about five minutes. Also, they'll have to be  
done individually, one at a time." He made it to the door of the workout  
room before Spike realized what he meant.  
  
"Bloody hell! You mean we can only do one per day!" Wesley  
mumbled a response that could have been 'Quite so,' as he closed the door  
behind himself.  
  
*****  
  
Buffy roused slowly, feeling warmer and happier than she had since  
she'd first gotten back. She nuzzled her chin into the warm body next to  
her, and stretched out her arms and legs, flexing her fingers and toes and  
extending her claws... Her eyes popped open as she remembered the night  
before. Faith was the warm body, and she was nudging Buffy to wake her  
up. Buffy nudged back, adding a good morning lick as she got up. Waking  
up next to a warm slayer was so much better than waking up next to a  
corpse. Buffy looked around, marveling again at the night vision that  
cats were blessed with. It almost seemed as bright as... Oh, wait. That  
bright spot must be the sun.  
  
It was fun while it lasted, but they've probably got the  
counter-spell figured out by now. After all, Willow was able to undo  
Amy's first rat spell, and it only took her three years. Of course,  
Willow wouldn't exactly be available to undo this one. It might take even  
longer than three years.  
  
Faith was never big on sharing her feelings, but it was so obvious  
that Buffy was in a good mood, she couldn't help but echo it. She waited  
until Buffy had decided which way to go, then nipped her ear and dashed  
ahead. Taking the forest route to the magic shop wasn't a long walk  
normally, but with two cats playing a feline version of tag the whole way,  
it was well into morning by the time they arrived.  
  
*****  
  
Wesley blushed again. "I'm very sorry Anya, I completely forgot  
about clothing." He sat on the corner of the bed in what Anya said was  
Willow's room as she picked out yet another set of clothing.  
  
Anya didn't seem to be listening very closely as she dug through  
the closet. "I wonder if she'd let me borrow this..." She placed the  
article back, and added a plain outfit to the stack on the bed. "That's  
all of them. Now let's go back to the shop and open it so I can start  
selling things and making money."  
  
Wesley picked up the clothing, following Anya back downstairs. He  
yawned widely, reminding himself to call Cordelia to let her know it might  
be a few more days before he could return. Also, he needed to get a hotel  
room so he could sleep. Anya was rather wearying, and he needed to be up  
before dawn to reverse the spell on the next ad interim animal.  
  
*****  
  
"How am I supposed to explain that my fiancé is a monkey? And he  
has to be able to go to work, or how can he earn money, contribute to  
society, and buy me pretty things?"  
  
"It's only for one extra day, Anya. I'm sure Dawn has homework  
she needs to do..." He eyed the ferret playing with the vixen and the  
rat. She wasn't paying attention, or else chose to ignore what he saying.  
"Xander will be back to normal Monday morning. I believe a more important  
concern is food. It will be quite some time-" Wesley cut off as there  
was a loud yell from the back, sounding like someone in agony. He rushed  
into the back room, scooping up a wicked looking axe along the way.  
  
Laying stretched out on the floor was Spike, with two large cats  
pacing around and over him, circling and growling. One was a buff colored  
lioness, quite petite for a lioness, actually. The other was a black  
jaguar, with the large head common to the species. She was fully the size  
of the lioness, making her a giant of her kind. Wesley tried to control  
his panic. If Buffy still had her Slayer related strength, and had  
succumbed to her animal instincts...  
  
Spike groaned, and rolled over, sitting up. Both cats stopped  
circling and sat down, one on either side of his legs. Wesley dropped the  
axe when Spike started laughing, almost taking off a few toes. "Had a fun  
night then, Slayer, and couldn't wait to jump my bones?" Both cats  
nodded, glanced at each other, then the black one ducked her head as if  
embarrassed.  
  
Spike's confusion was evident. "What is it now? You know, as  
much fun as it is to not have to listen to you insulting me, I feel like  
I'm missing out on half the conversation anymore."  
  
"Faith."  
  
All heads turned towards Wesley, one of the furry ones looking  
guilty. He lifted a hand gesturing vaguely at her. "That's Faith."  
  
Spike slowly turned to stare at her, feeling and looking vaguely  
alarmed. "Nice kitty."  
  
*****  
  
Wesley made a list and checked it twice. Large quantities of raw  
meat, some fresh produce, gallons of spring water, and a number of large  
bowls. "It's somewhat convenient that so many of you are carnivores, at  
least the shopping list is easy. Expensive, though." He handed the list  
over to Anya, congratulating himself on his cleverness. As soon as she'd  
seen the wisdom in feeding the large animals before they starting looking  
for alternate sources of food, the tight purse strings had opened. Then  
he'd casually mentioned that he wasn't so good at bargain shopping, and  
Anya had decided she'd take care of the shopping if he kept the store  
open.  
  
Anya simply tucked the list away, and scooped Xander off the  
table. "Come along honey, you can help too." She carried the weakly  
protesting monkey out the door, the bell chiming softly.  
  
Wesley decided that was as good a time as any to call Cordelia and  
update her. He dialed, and waited through the ringing and one of  
Cordelia's always inventive greeting. "Yes, it's me. The good news is  
I've figured out how to fix the current Sunnydale dilemma."  
  
//"So there's bad news, then. Don't keep me in suspense, Mr.  
Cheerful."//  
  
"I'm afraid it will take another week to completely resolve. Due  
to the particular spell used, it will have to be undone one person at a  
time, and the ritual can only be performed at daybreak."  
  
//"No problem, I'll let the others know. Not that I care, but why  
can't you fix one of the witches and let them do it?"//  
  
"None of them speak Aquitanian." He spotted Faith curled up next  
to Buffy, the two cats napping on the floor and was reminded of her  
presence. "Cordelia, you said you saw seven animals in the vision. We  
seem to have an extra one, Faith was here as well."  
  
//"Oh, duh. I should have figured it out when Spike mentioned  
the panther."//  
  
"Jaguar."  
  
//"Whatever. As long as she's not psycho-girl anymore."//  
  
Wesley tried to suppress his memories of being tortured by Faith.  
He found it substantially easier than expected, mostly because of her  
current form, and thus subconsciously placed the two Slayers at the end of  
the mental schedule he'd been arranging. "Quite. I'll call again if I  
run into any problems."  
  
//"You're the boss. Enjoy the vacation."//  
  
*****  
  
After lunch, which for the most part consisted of the carnivores  
gorging themselves on fresh meat, Wesley headed off to find a hotel, while  
the animals curled up to sleep and digest. Anya didn't pay much attention  
to this, beyond noticing how cute it was when the gold and black tails  
wrapped around each other in sleep. The fact that Buffy and Faith had  
chosen to lay down in the store area was not noticed.  
  
The little blonde haired girl holding her mother's hand couldn't  
have been more than five. To her, the big fluffy cats looked like the  
stuffed toys she saw in the toy store that mommy wouldn't buy. So  
naturally, she started tugging on her mother's hand.  
  
"Mommy, look. Look, mommy... kitties. Can I pet them? Please  
mommy?"  
  
Anya, who tended to treat children as short people rather than  
talking down to them, simply said, "They're sleeping now, so you have to  
be very gentle." Her mother, thinking Anya was making a joke, told her to  
go ahead.  
  
  
Faith's ear twitched when she felt the first tentative touch on  
her head. Thinking it was Buffy being affectionate, she relaxed into the  
touch, rumbling quietly in contentment. A moment later she heard a  
giggle, followed by a child's voice, "She's purring!" She lazily opened  
one eye to see a cute little girl in a pink dress squatting next to her,  
petting her. She could feel Buffy stirring beside her, and glanced that  
way to see a look of amusement as the girl suddenly decided that since  
they were awake now, it was perfectly alright to start hugging Faith.  
  
A few minutes later, the mother had made her purchases, and came  
over to retrieve her daughter, who was squealing with laughter as she  
hugged the big black cat, while the yellow one licked her face.  
  
*****  
  
By mid-afternoon, the shop was a zoo. A petting zoo, actually.  
It was noisy enough to rouse Tara in the back room, who lumbered out into  
the main shop, surprising the small army of children climbing on the two  
cats.  
  
"Oh, Tara! I'm so glad you're awake." Anya pointed to the woman  
next to her. "This customer is looking for books on protection rituals.  
Could you help her?" Tara yawned and padded over to a shelf, thumping  
down as she sat on the floor. She heard a comment over her shoulder,  
"Tara's a wonderful witch, she'll know the right one to help you." She  
scanned the shelf, and pointed out a particular book she liked to use,  
twisting her head to gaze at the gape-jawed woman following her. It then  
occurred to Tara that she was still naked. Her nap induced fuzzy thinking  
cleared up a moment later, and she realized it wasn't that she was bare,  
it was that she was a bear.  
  
The customer had recovered enough to pull out the book and glance  
through it. Looking at Tara again, she hesitantly asked, "I don't suppose  
you know where to find the ingredients too?" Tara grinned, and rolled  
onto her paws. If Sunnydale could ignore vampires and demons, why not a  
wiccan bear?  
  
*****  
  
Buffy and Faith slipped away when the sun set. The parents had  
left already, some kind of instinctive trait that urged them to get small  
children home before dark. Anya was much too busy celebrating her best  
sales day since Halloween to care, but she did elicit a vague promise from  
both of them to help in the shop to make up for the food.  
  
The two slipped out silently into the forest, headed for a large  
nest they had scented last night. Part of the way there, Faith spotted a  
doe drinking from a stream. A moments glance to agree on a plan, and  
Buffy hunkered down to wait for Faith to circle around and chase the deer  
to her. The deer never had a chance against the two cats, who feasted,  
cleaned each other, and headed to the next hunt.  
  
-- End Part Three  
NOTE1: I like to be precise. In the process of writing this, I recalled  
that the panther wasn't a true species. So I spent some time on the web  
and looked it up, from which Wesley's little rant originated. However,  
after that I decided to go ahead and specify the exact species for  
everyone.  
Buffy North African lion (Panthera leo leo)  
Faith Amazon Rain Forest 'Black' Jaguar (Panthera onca onca)  
Dawn Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)  
Willow Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)  
Tara Grizzly Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)  
Xander Black-capped Capuchin (Cebidae cebus apella)  
Anya White-tailed Jack Rabbit (Lepus californicus)  
Amy Black Rat (Rattus rattus)  
NOTE2: Aquitanian is a real language. The Romans found a people in the  
southwestern portion of Gaul, and called them Aquitani. Aquitanian became  
the language now known as Basque. What's curious about Basque is that it  
appears to be unrelated to any other spoken language to any extent beyond  
coincidence. I chose it because this would have made it ideal for hiding  
spells from the Inquisition. Wesley called it Aquitanian because he's  
showing off.  
$Revision: 1.9 $  
$Date: 2002/02/06 00:26:13 $ 


	4. Sunday with Dawn

TITLE: 'The Nature of the Beast' Part 4/10  
AUTHOR: Cherry   
RATING: PG-13  
PAIRING: B/F  
SUMMARY: Sunday with Dawn  
ARCHIVE: http://www.thekeep.org/~cherry/  
SPOILERS: S6 'Wrecked'  
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.  
PREVIOUSLY: Anya, restored to human, turns the Magic Box into a micro  
petting zoo, maximizing her profits. The slayers continue  
to spend time with each other.  
DISTRIBUTION: Wicked & Divine  
  
** From Part Three **  
  
The two slipped out silently into the forest, headed for a large  
nest they had scented last night. Part of the way there, Faith spotted a  
doe drinking from a stream. A moment's glance to agree on a plan, and  
Buffy hunkered down to wait for Faith to circle around and chase the deer  
to her. The deer never had a chance against the two cats, who feasted,  
cleaned each other, and headed to the next hunt.  
  
** End Part Three **  
  
  
Dawn dashed up the few steps to the door, digging in her pocket  
for the key. Trust Anya to have had a spare made and a copy kept at the  
magic shop. She paused, noticing and then staring at the two large cats  
on her porch. It was a bit disorienting seeing them from a normal  
perspective again. It was a bit disturbing to realize that it hadn't just  
been the size difference that made them seem so large, they really were  
quite big.  
  
She didn't have very many memories of Faith, mostly just from the  
Christmas that Buffy had run off to save Angel. She couldn't recall where  
she was when Faith had broken into the house to swap bodies with Buffy.  
It was painful to realize over and over that you hadn't been real.  
  
Which meant it was the perfect time to make new memories.  
  
*****  
  
Faith had woken up with the first tap of feet on the steps, but  
hadn't bothered to rouse herself. It was early, her belly was full, and  
it was simply too comfortable laying half against Buffy's warm flank. She  
simply flicked open one eye, checked that it was Dawn, and then went back  
to napping.  
  
It couldn't have been more than two minutes later that the door  
opened again. After a short pause, she heard a soft click that sounded  
familiar. Some footsteps, then another click. More footsteps getting  
closer, then her head snapped up just in time to look right into the  
camera as Dawn took another picture.  
  
Momentarily blinded, she yelped, startling Buffy who leaped up and  
collided with Dawn, knocking both of them down, and dropped Faith's head  
to thud into the porch in the process. Trying to rub her head with a paw,  
she was surprised when Dawn suddenly started laughing, probably at the  
three of them tangled up together. Buffy seemed rather confused by it  
all, and started cleaning herself; ignoring Dawn, who was already making  
fun of her clumsy awakening.  
  
*****  
  
"Buffy, come on. Get out of the way. Look, my arm is fine  
again." After playfully chasing Dawn back into the house, Buffy had  
blocked her from leaving again. Faith stretched out on the floor and  
sighed again. Dawn had been arguing with the stony faced cat for ten  
minutes, and neither seemed ready to give in yet. She'd already started  
to repeat herself.  
  
"It's sunny out, no vamps around." Dawn paused to try a new  
angle. "Besides, it's not like you could go with me." There was a silent  
pause, during which Buffy simply got to her feet, and walked to the door,  
waiting for Dawn to join her. "You can't be serious." Dawn looked to  
Faith for support, but her only response was a shrug. Buffy turned her  
head to look at Dawn, saying as clearly her expression could, and despite  
her new look, her expression was as easy to read as ever, that the only  
way Dawn was leaving was if Buffy came along too.  
  
Faith slipped over to the table, and caught the strap of the  
camera in her mouth, carrying it back to Dawn. Whatever it was that made  
B so friendly was unlikely to last once she was changed back, so pictures  
might be the only thing she'd have to remember this week. Dawn had a  
decidedly evil smirk on her face when she accepted the camera though...  
It was only the fact that it was directed at Buffy that kept her from  
turning tail.  
  
*****  
  
The walk down Sunnydale's main street had been amusing, and Faith  
was beginning to suspect that Buffy's motivation was simply to have fun.  
Which she could whole-heartedly support. But Dawn's destination wasn't  
the Magic Box, which surprised Faith slightly. Instead, she found herself  
following the distracting gold tail into a store that stunk of animals  
cramped in too closely together.   
  
"You guys stay here, I'll be right back." Dawn tried to casually  
walk away from the immediately suspicious felines, who shared a quick  
glance at one another, then moved to follow silently. Staying one corner  
behind, they heard Dawn find an employee. "Hi! Where can I find  
collars?"  
  
The response from the as yet unseen male clerk was a bit  
insulting. "Flea collars, choke collars, or plain?" Lucky for Dawn, her  
quick response was to ask for the regular kind. This produced one more  
shared glance.  
  
The selection was fairly simple. She picked up two of the largest  
available, two other items, and headed up to pay for them. A quick visual  
check to make sure the catty slayers hadn't sneaked off, and then Dawn did  
her part to contribute to the capitalist economy.  
  
"Oh, no bag. I'll use them right now." Dawn ignored the leering  
look that got her, and scooped up the leather items from the counter. She  
continued to ignore him when he spluttered and made panicked protests  
about animals in the store, having noticed Buffy and Faith for the first  
time. "See, I even got leather, since I know you both like it."  
  
Buffy accepted the collar stoically, but began to growl when Dawn  
brandished the matching leash. Faith noticed the poor kid behind the  
counter was turning white as the sisters glared at other. His eyes bugged  
out when Buffy cut off her snarling suddenly. Faith looked back just in  
time to see Buffy looking to the side, giving in to the leash. While she  
certainly couldn't say that being on a leash sat well with her either,  
Faith made no protest when it was her turn.  
  
Having him take pictures of the three of them was really going too  
far, but it was quite satisfying to see his face when Dawn asked them to  
smile for the camera, nearly making up being in the picture.  
  
*****  
  
The small shop bell chimed as it swung open. Not unexpectedly,  
Anya and her monkey were the only occupants. Xander, who had perched on  
her shoulder took one look at the cats on leashes, and fell backwards  
as he laughed, grabbing onto Anya's blouse to keep from landing on the  
floor. He poked his chin under her arm, still laughing as he clung on.  
  
Buffy and Faith looked quite ready to have a monkey appetizer  
until Dawn stepped in as an equalizer. "Anya... you've got a monkey on  
your back." She unclipped the leashes, adding, "I'm sure my little  
kitties would be happy to take care of that for you." She dropped the  
leashes and her bookbag on the research table, and casually picked up the  
nearest book, flipping it open. Luckily, no one was close enough to see  
that it was upside-down.  
  
"What an excellent idea!" Anya completely failed to notice the  
four shocked looks. "Now they look like pets instead of wild animals.  
Which is good, because there's a zoo really close by." She looked around,  
finding confused faces. "The collars."  
  
"Oh! That, and it was really fun. Where's everyone else?"  
  
"Tara got this strange idea about practicing magic. Something  
about being skyclad, but I think Wesley's sign language is rusty. Anyhow,  
Amy & Willow are with her in the back room."  
  
Dawn rubbed her healed arm unconsciously. "I thought Willow gave  
up magic. Wasn't that the whole point of Tara moving out? Or did they  
make up? 'Cause you know, it was kinda weird when I was a ferret. Like  
human stuff wasn't as important."  
  
Anya shuddered as she repressed her brief experience, and focused  
her attention on the cats instead, cleverly changing the subject. "Wesley  
bought fresh meat for the two of you. It was very expensive, so I won't  
mind if you're not hungry yet. No eating Xander, though."  
  
The only response her offer got was an ear flick from the curled  
up pair. Fresh was a relative thing, and food always tasted better when  
you made it yourself. Or better yet, hunted it yourself.  
  
*****  
  
Homework just wasn't as much fun by yourself, so after a quick  
negotiation with Anya, Dawn got permission to call her friends to study at  
the shop. Pointing that the table was used for research all the time  
didn't fly, but pointing out that if it became a cool teen hangout there  
might be more be more sales because teens follow trends was enough to  
convince Anya.  
  
It was the discussion on dissecting a cat that really caught  
Buffy's attention.  
  
She rolled to her feet, and poked her head around the corner into  
the table alcove. Dawn was sitting just to her left, and so was the only  
one who didn't notice her at first. She didn't even notice when the  
entire table went dead silent.  
  
"I'm so glad I'm not in that class. The frog is bad enough. Was  
it like a cat from a shelter that was put to sleep?" Dawn looked up from  
her book. "Sharon?" She looked at the others at the table, and then  
followed the fixed gazes to her right, where Buffy was standing. "Oh, hey  
you." Dawn reached out and scratched behind Buffy's ear without really  
thinking about it. "Bored?"  
  
Buffy's eyes closed as her head dropped into Dawn's lap, rumbling  
in an extra-large sized version of a purring sound. This lasted for all  
of a minute before there was a high-pitched shriek from one of the girls  
as Faith appeared, investigating her suddenly missing partner.  
  
Sharon, who was sitting on the far side of the table, liked cats.  
She'd found out about the honors biology class dissection project, and had  
shared her discovery out of a sense of outrage that anyone would do that  
to a cat. It was an interesting coincidence that when the slightly  
jealous jaguar suddenly decided she wanted attention too, it was her lap  
that the black furred feline went to. She was thus the first to make the  
connection between the leash ends hanging out of Dawn's bag and the  
matching collar that her hand bumped into.  
  
"You have a panther as a pet??"  
  
*****  
  
Faith was lastingly grateful that none of the girls had had pink  
ribbons to tie on her collar. She liked Dawn, really. And helping to  
improve her popularity was well and good, but no cutesy ribbons. Dawn  
still had the damn camera, after all. Her own fault, really. She'd  
thought that Dawn would have fun taking pictures of Buffy, and hadn't  
realized she'd be in them all too.  
  
Wesley had showed up close to sundown, making sure that Anya would  
be there the next morning with Xander. He'd actually smiled at the feline  
pair, commenting that the council had always wanted them on a tight leash,  
and would be fascinated to learn that all they'd needed was the right key.  
  
Somehow, they were able to forbear the humor to go on patrol.  
More accurately, it was a quickly plotted escape.  
  
They roamed through the usual in-city haunts, sniffing at the  
openings to abandoned buildings, of which Sunnydale had more than was  
usual for its size. Only one was inhabited, which was quickly corrected.  
Faith took great pride in taking out more than Buffy did. The usual next  
stop would have been the Bronze, but after prowling the alleys around it  
for a time, they gave up and headed to the first of many cemeteries.  
  
Buffy took the lead, heading directly to, and without pausing,  
into a crypt. Faith slipped past the heavy stone door that was bouncing  
back to slam closed just in time to hear a voice with a British accent  
react to the intrusion.  
  
"I can see the new shape hasn't changed your manners, pet." Spike  
grounded his cigarette out on the arm of the chair he was sitting in.  
"It'll make it harder to punch me in the nose, at least." Buffy simply  
stared at him and waited.  
  
Spike nonchalantly looked back at her, and took his time getting  
up and picking up his duster from the floor. "I imagine you're wanting me  
to attend your royal highness, and go somewhere." He lit up again when  
she nodded. "I don't suppose there'll be any demons to kill?" A second  
nod, and a smirk crossed his face. "Right, off we go then."  
  
The unusual trio were unusually effective fighting together.  
Spike was somewhat disappointed when the competition ran out of targets  
early in the night. Still, he followed along behind when Buffy led them  
into the woods. He shared in the feasting when they found dinner; cold  
pig's blood was the poof's thing.  
  
It was when the slayers followed Spike back to his crypt and  
curled up on the floor next to his bed that he remembered this was the  
same Buffy who had wrecked the house with him. He mumbled to himself as  
he fell asleep, "Like the new you, luv. Hope you keep that attitude when  
you change back."  
  
-- End Part Four  
$Revision: 1.10 $  
$Date: 2002/03/03 22:58:22 $ 


End file.
